The summer has ended for us and we’re back into the swing of things here in Cairo. And with that, back to the blog! It was such a great summer for both of us. We started off our summer visiting the Prieb family in California, then spent a week in Colorado with the Hatfields, having some family time and doing some hiking (I won’t mention the fact that we hiked 5 miles in the wrong direction). We then jetted off to Florida for an amazing cruise with 8 of our best friends from college, followed by a week in Charlottesville, Virginia, and lastly some time in Indiana. It was an awesome whirlwind of a summer, but I think living out of a suitcase for 2 1/2 months made us eager and excited to begin Year 2 here in Cairo and have a little normalcy again!

We touched down in Cairo after a long 24 hours of travel, tired and dirty, but glad to be back. We had a friend waiting for us at the airport, and as we drove to our new apartment we couldn’t help but feel how wonderful it was to be back in the midst of this loud, dirty, full-of-traffic city that now strangely feels so much like home. We’ve moved into a different apartment that’s about a 15-minute walk from where we were living before, and is actually right across the street from the church we attend here. It’s a little dated compared to our last place, and has a few (thousand) more ants, but has an awesome living room space, and most importantly, a super-huge balcony with a great view! After some much needed deep cleaning, the place is getting more and more spruced up and we’re slowly making it our own. 🙂 Here’s the view from our balcony that I just took as I’m typing now. Not too shabby! And if you can count the satellite dishes, you may just get a prize…

A couple weeks ago, Caleb started back for his second year teaching 5th grade at AIS. It’s a nice feeling for him to be back at a job that he already knows the ropes to and how things work at the school. He’s co-head-of-department for his grade level, meaning he has the school’s permission to officially boss people around…kind of. 🙂 It’s been great being back with old coworkers, as well as meeting a lot of new faces that have just signed on. A couple of weeks ago we stayed at a resort on the Red Sea with many of the teachers and staff from AIS, which was super fun and super relaxing. We met some awesome new friends that we’re looking forward to getting to know better over the year!

Although I was teaching at AIS last year, I decided to do something different this year and am keeping busy helping to organize short-term medical clinics here in Cairo. It’s been great being back in the medical world a bit more, and I’ve loved getting to experience and serve in some very needy areas of Cairo and the surrounding area. I’ve also gotten to work on my Arabic a bit more, which if you know me, you know I’ve been picking it up VERY slowly. 🙂

Tonight (at 3:30am) we get ready to head BACK to the States (Arizona, specifically) for my awesome brother David’s wedding! It’s going to be a whirlwind of a trip, but we’re so thankful we get to go and spend this special time with family. And so super thankful that God brought him and my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Michele, together. We’re excited, but it’s safe to say that both Caleb and I are praying we aren’t just walking zombies the entire time we’re there! 🙂

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers for us. We are so thankful for each one of you and that God has placed us in your lives!

And incase you haven’t seen it, in true Caleb fashion, he made a little video showing some highlights of our summer. Feel free to take a look!

3 Responses to Back in the Action

How I could so identify with you when you talked about being “back in the midst of this loud, dirty, full-of-traffic city that now strangely feels so much like home.” Such is Madrid. Such is our heart still for this great city. See you on Friday! Tio

Caleb (and Becca!) — I have so loved following along with your adventures in Egypt (I went to elementary school with Becca and have seen the posts on Facebook). I have recently started working as a content editor with the website/blog The Snarky Schoolteacher, and as I’ve been working on our upcoming Teacher Features, I remembered the neat piece you did about the trip you took with your students last year. We would love to add an international perspective to what we’re sharing, and I know our readers would love to see what you’re doing in your classroom “across the pond”!

You can see more from our recent teacher features on our blog, and if you’re interested in being included, you can email me and I can send you more information! 🙂

Again — love, love, LOVE the blog! I always look forward to the new videos and updates. 🙂